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Recharge Wrap-up: Arcimoto SRK video, BAIC EV at CES

Kelley Blue Book took a spin in the Arcimoto SRK three-wheeled EV at CES in Las Vegas. In the video above, KBB Managing Editor Micah Muzio gets behind the handlebars for a spin around an empty parking lot. He notes a gradual throttle tip-in, though from the video, it appears the trike has a bit of pep. While the hydraulic brake pedal requires a bit of extra effort, the regenerative brake lever located on the right handlebar is effective and easy to use. The steering is a little heavy, but manageable, at low speeds. He calls it "kind of a fun little conveyance," adding, "Maybe this is the future." See the full review in the video above. CARB Chairman Mary Nichols spoke with German television about Volkswagen's emissions scandal. In a photo she posted on Twitter, Nichols can be seen in front of cameras with CARB's test bay in the background. In the bay is a Volkswagen Jetta TDI. She says in her tweet, "Discussing VW cheating case w/German TV in front of ARB lab test bay & '07 diesel Jetta. Time to move on to #EVs!" Late last year, a group of environmentalists and Silicon Valley leaders – Elon Musk included – sent Nichols an open letter suggesting CARB help urge Volkswagen to give up on diesels and focus on electric vehicles. See Nichols's post on Twitter. South Korea's most popular EV is the Renault Samsung Motors (RSM) SM3 ZE (also known as the Renault Fluence ZE). The all-electric vehicle has sold 1,767 units since its arrival in Korea since November 2013, with 2015 sales reaching 1,043 units. This makes one in three EVs in Korea a RSM SM3 ZE. The car has been selected as Korea's official government vehicle, and RSM has supplied over 100 EV taxis, 60 of which are in Seoul. Read more in the press release from Renault. BAIC EV announced it has established an R&D center in Detroit at CES. It will work with its other centers in Silicon Valley and Aachen, Germany in order to develop automotive technology and evaluate global demand. The EV branch of the Chinese automaker also debuted its i-Link information system, which uses 4G to connect car telematics to the cloud. The i-Link system also provides wireless phone charging, remote inquiry services and connects sensing technologies to the internet. Read more in the press release below.

Poor headlights cause 40 cars to miss IIHS Top Safety Pick rating

Over the past few months, we've noticed a number of cars and SUVs that have come incredibly close to earning one of the IIHS's highest accolades, the Top Safety Pick rating. They have great crash test scores and solid automatic emergency braking and forward collision warning systems. What trips them up is headlights. That got us wondering, how many vehicles are there that are coming up short because they don't have headlights that meet the organization's criteria for an "Acceptable" or "Good" rating. This is a revision made after 2017, a year in which headlights weren't factored in for this specific award. This is also why why some vehicles, such as the Ford F-150, might have had the award last year, but have lost it for this year. We reached out to someone at IIHS to find out. He responded with the following car models. Depending on how you count, a whopping 40 models crash well enough to receive the rating, but don't get it because their headlights are either "Poor" or "Marginal." We say depending on how you count because the IIHS actual counts truck body styles differently, and the Infiniti Q70 is a special case. Apparently the version of the Q70 that has good headlights doesn't have adequate forward collision prevention technology. And the one that has good forward collision tech doesn't have good enough headlights. We've provided the entire list of vehicles below in alphabetical order. Interestingly, it seems the Volkswagen Group is having the most difficulty providing good headlights with its otherwise safe cars. It had the most models on the list at 9 split between Audi and Volkswagen. GM is next in line with 7 models. It is worth noting again that though these vehicles have subpar headlights and don't quite earn Top Safety Pick awards, that doesn't mean they're unsafe. They all score well enough in crash testing and forward collision prevention that they would get the coveted award if the lights were better.

Lamborghini could be sold or spun off from the Volkswagen Group

Volkswagen is reportedly considering a sale or stock listing for its high-end Lamborghini brand. The German automaker is looking to fold the Italian supercar brand into a separate legal entity, reports Bloomberg, which cites "people familiar with the matter" who don't want to be identified "because the deliberations are confidential and no decisions have been made." Any of this sound familiar? The goal of spinning off Lamborghini would be to stockpile more cash and other resources for VW's massive planned push into electric vehicles. Back in March, reports circulated that Volkswagen's "Vision 2030" corporate plan might include plans to focus on the brand's core brands — VW, Audi and Porsche. That means the futures of fringe players like Lamborghini, Bentley, Bugatti, motorcycle brand Ducati and design firm Italdesign (and note this isn't a comprehensive list of brand's under the expansive VW Group umbrella) are up in the air. VW, according to the report, is targeting a market value of $220 billion, which is a big jump from the brand's current $89 billion valuation. Bloomberg pegged Lamborghini's valuation at around $11 billion back in August, buoyed by sales and profits generated by the introduction of the Urus sport utility vehicle. On the flip side, Lamborghini is currently grappling with how best to update its supercar lineup in the face of ever-increasing emissions regulations.